barrows



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

v E. BARROWS. ROTARY ENGINE.

N 0, 89- Patented Feb. '7, 1854! 2 'Shets-Sheet 2.

E. BARROW S. ROTARY ENGINE.

No..lO.489. PatentedTeb. 7, 1854.

m: NORRIS pzrzns co vnoraumm WASHINGTON, n. c.

UNITED STATES, PATENT OFFICE,

EBENEZER ARRows, or new YORK, x,

Specification of Letters Patent No. 10,489,, dated February 7,,1854.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, EBENEZER BARROWS, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary Engines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in whichs Figure l, isan end view. Fig. 2, is a plan. Fig. 3, is a vertical section, in the lines, 00 w, in Figs. 2 and 4. Fig. 4, is a horizontal section,in the line, in Fig. '3. Fig. 5, is a perspective view of 'one of the cocks, used for stopping, starting, and reversing, detached from the engine.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts, in each of the several figures.

My invention consistsin the employment,

within a cylinder closed at its ends, of a steam wheel whose periphery near each edge fits to the cylinder, only a sufficient space to admit of tight packing; the space on the periphery of the wheel, between those parts fitting the cylinder, being recessed, so as to form a channel in the wheel, and leave an annular space or passage between the cylinder and the wheel, which is fitted and se cured upon a shaft which passes through the ends of the cylinder. Within the cylinder, and secured to it, are two abutments or stops, which fit in and close the channel in the wheel, at two points diametrically opposite each other, dividing the passage into two parts, havingno connection with each other. The steam wheel is provided with four, or may have more pistons, which slide through suitable openings in its periphery, being forced out, so as to fill thepassage between it and the cylinder, and drawn in, to allow them to pass the abutments, by means of curved grooves, on the inner side of the cylinder ends, in which, friction rollers, hung on studs on either side of the pistons, travel. The steam is admitted into the cylinder through passages diametrically opposite each other, and acts always upon two pistons, one in each division of the cylinder,

at the same time; the steam, on the opposite sides of the pistons, escaping throughproper exhaust passages; two sets of steam and two sets of exhaust passages, being provided for each division of the cylinder; one set for driving the steam wheel in each direction.

, found hereinafter described. 4

The admission of the steam into either set of passages, orthe shutting; off, is controlled by a slx-way cock, whose construction will be My invention consists, furthermore, in. certain improvements in the manner of pack,- ing the several workingparts oft'he; engine, 1 for the purpose of making perfect steam;

tight,joints;.which.improvements are appl'i cable to all similar joints or wearing sur; faces in engines.

To'enable others skilled in the art to. make and use my said invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation,

A, is a hollow cylinder of metal,whose interior surface is made perfectly true; it

has two. openings, B,.diametrically opposite .eachothe r, one one each side, fr which I there proceed short pipes,li'ha,vi flanggs at their ends. 7 1 i L C,is abase, or standard, upon which the cylinder is supported. v

D, are the cylinder heads, which are see cured so as tov make the interior: of theycylin- V der perfectly steam-tight.

. E, see Figs. 3 and 4:, is the steam wheel, 1

which consists of a hollow metal cylinder, whose external. diameter, exceptat the, edges of its periphery, is about six-sevenths ofthe int-eriordlameter of the cylinder; ,it is prov vided, at each edge of its. periphery, witha projecting flange or rim, F, fitting to the cyllnder, and having grooves turned in it,

in which are fitted steel or other hard metal packing rings, on, having springs at their backs, to keep them close to the cylinder.

This steam wheel may be constructed of "1 two circular-disks, fitting to the cylinder, J and having the smaller part cast separate, f- 'andbolted between the disks,by bolts, 1,51, or may be constructed in any suitable: way; 1

the smaller part of the periphery mustbe turned concentric with the projecting rings or flanges; andsthe inner sides or faces of 9 the flanges must; be faced true to; thef riphery.

J, is the shaft of the engine, to which'the steam wheel is fitted and .firmly secured in any suitable manner; it passes through boxes, K, in the cylinder heads, D, in which there are a series of friction rollers, i, see

are packed steam-tight by "packing r ngs, j, inserted within the box; uponthese rollers, the shaft runs. The boxes, which 515 9 nearly close to the sides of the steam wheel,

are packed steam-tight by packing rings,

" them out.

7a, which fit in grooves in their faces, and are forced out-by springs against thefaces of the wheel, with which they make a steamtight joint; the face of the wheel being truly surfaced at those points. The boxes are closed outside by cap-plates, L.

G, G, G, G, Figs. 3 and 4, are the pistons, consisting of flat plates of metal, fitted in slotsin the smaller part of the periphery of the steam wheel; a suitable piece b,Fig. 3, being fitted in each side of the slots, to make a tight joint. The outer faces which come in contact with the cylinder and the side edges of the pistons, have steel or other metal packing strips, 0, cl, fitted t them; springs being placed behind them, to force At the back of the pistons, on each side, there is a square shank, e, fitting easily, so as to slide in a radial slot, f, in the disks or end plates of the steam wheel; and

at the end of each of these shanks,,there is a stud, g, on which is fitted a steel or other hard metalfrictio-n roller, Z, which runs in a groove, H, in theinner face of each cylin-. der head, D. These grooves, which are seen in section, in Fig. 4, and, in dotted lines, through the end plates of thesteam wheel, in Fig. 3, are setout in the following manner. Their upper and lower parts,'eachbeing a quadrant, or a portion of a circle greater than a quadrant, have the projections formingthe sides of the grooves cast on the cylinder-heads, and the groove is turned out concentric wlth the cyllnder. The side parts run 111 at an easy curve from the quadrantal parts, and are straight or nearly straight; these I make separate, and fit in and secure to the cylinder-head, after the quadrantal parts are turned. Thequadrantal or concentric parts of the groove are at a proper distance from the center of the cylinder, to cause the pistons, when their rollers run-in them, to be forced out against the cylinder, so as to fill and close the passage between it and the wheel; see G, G, Fig. 3. The middle of the straight parts,

or the points half-way between the concentric parts of the grooves, are at such a distance from the center of the cylinder, as to cause the pistons, when the rollers are at those points, to be drawn inwards, with their edges within the smaller part of the periphery of the steam-wheel; see G, G, Figs. 3 and 4.

M, are the six-way cocks, or steam-heads, one of. which may be seen at Fig. -5; the parts, N, are fitted in the apertures, B, in the sides of the cylinder; being provided with flanges, by which they are secured to those around the said apertures, the joints A beingmade perfectly steam-tight; the front of the part, N, forms the abutments or stops, which are packed by a front packing piece, 0,- and side packing pieces, P, soas to fit in the channel in the steam-wheel; the

front packing piece fitting against the small part of the perihpery of the wheel or bottom of the channel, and the side pieces against the inner faces of the projecting rims, F, or sides of the channel, dividing the passage around the interior of the cylinder into two chambers, an upper and lower one.

Q, are the cock-plugs which are fitted in taper seats or sockets in the parts 'of the steam-heads outside the cylinder. In each steam-head, there are six passages, viz., two at the top, leading from the cock-plug to the steam and exhaust pipes; two steam passages, leading from the plug to the two chambers of the cylinder, and two exhaust passages, leading from the two chambers of the cylinder to the plug; these I will. pro? ceed to describe separately. Itwill be well, however, first, to call attention to the sectional Figs. 3, and 4, in which the engine is not supposed to be cut directly through v in a straight line; but, for the purpose of better explanation, the sections are taken in the directions of the lines, 00, a", and, t, in Fig. 3; those passages whose interior cannot be seen, are represented by dotted lines R, R, are the passages communicating be; tween the steam-pipe, S,-which has two branches, one leading to each c0ck,and the seats of the cock-plugs, Q. p j

T, are the steam passages, leading from the seats of the cock plugs, to the chamber of the cylinder, above the abutments or stops, N. T, are others, leading from the opposite side of the plugs, to those, T, and

running under themv to the chamber of the ber of the cylinder. U, are others, leading from the seats of the cock-plugs, to the lower chamber of the cylinder, running under those, U.

V, arepassages, leading from the seats of the cock-plugs, to the exhaust -pipe, WV, which has two branches, one communicating with each cock. i j j i Thecock-plugs are solid, for that part of their length, which fits that part of the sockets in which are the steam-passages, T,

and T; and each i provided with a passage, m, which is of such form, that, by turning the plug, it may be made to form a communication from the steam pipe, through either passage, T, or T, to the cylinder, or to close both passages. That part of the plug which is opposite the exhaust passages, U, and U, is hollow, andhas an opening or passage, n, through one side, which, when the passage, m-,Yis in communication with either steam-passage, T, or T, is communication with the exhaust passage, U, or U, leading from the oppo-. site side of the abutment or stop. The

haust-pipe, WV, whichever steam-passage is open. Each cock-plug is provided with a short lever, X; and both levers are connected by a bar, Y, so as to be both moved in the same direction at once. This bar, Y, is connected with the starting-lever, or handle, Z, which works on a fixed fulcrum in one of the cylinder heads, or in any suit-able stationary object. The starting-lever enables the engineer, or person attending the engine, to control the operation of both cocks at once, so as to give it a forward or reversed motion, or stop it.

It will be observed, by reference to the two sectional figures, in the drawing, that all thepacking-rings of the steam wheel and packing pieces in the pistons and abutments and other working parts of the engine, have small grooves, 1', in those faces which im'- pinge upon the sides of the grooves or recesses in which they fit or slide. Now, the wear on these faces is very slight, as they only move to compensate for the wear on their working faces; still, they must fit steam-tight in their places, and, as they are usually made of steel, or some hard metal, the labor in fitting them is great. To reduce this labor, I fit them easily in their places, and turn the grooves, 1", all round, or along their sides; these grooves I fill, in anyv convenient way, with softer metal or metallic alloy, of a similar nature to that sometimes used for bearings, and allow it to stand above the surface, then turn or face it, so as to allow the rings or pieces to be ground, or otherwise tightly fitted into their places. The small surface presented by. the metal in the grooves, 1, will be enough to make the joint tight, and enables the packing to be fitted so much more readily than when the hard metal itself is fitted in.

The packing, on the faces of the pistons and abutments or stops, is secured to that on the sides, by dovetailing;this is best seen in Fig. 5; the dovetails being formed on the side-pieces, P, and the mortices in the face-piece, 0; this allows the side-pieces, P, to accommodate themselves to the wear, consequent upon the prolonged operation, and still confines them to the face-piece, O, and keeps the joints tight at the corners.

The operation is as follows :When the steam enters above the abutment, through one six-way cock, it enters below it, through the opposite one. In the drawing, in all the figures, the steam issupposed to be entering above the abutment, at the right hand side of the engine, and below it, on the left hand side; the steam passage, m, of the right hand cock-plug, being so disposed as to form a communication between the steam-pipe and the upper passage, T, in the steam-head, the

passage, T, being closed; and thecorre-j sponding passage, m, in the left handcockplug, forming a communication between the steam-pipe and the'lower passage, T",the passage, T, being closed. The right hand lower exhaust passage, U, and the left hand upper exhaust passage, U, being open, that corresponding to each, on the opposite side, being closed. The steam, entering the cylinder, in the direction of the arrows, l, is acting on the pistons, G, G; those G, Gr, being drawn within the periphery of the wheel, through the friction rollers traveling in the grooves,,H, being at their nearest point to the center. Theexhaust steam, in front of the pistons, escapes, in the direction of the arrows, 2, through the passage, U, at the right hand side, and U, at the left hand side,

of the drawing; and, passing through the hollow parts of the cock-plugs, Q, escapes through the openings, 0, to the exhaust-pipe.

The steam-wheel is caused to rotate, in the direct-ion pointed by the arrows; and, at the instant,or immediately before, the friction rollers, l, on the pistons, G, which are now out, commence leaving the quadrantal parts of the grooves, H, the rollers on the pistons,

G, G,reach the said quadrantal parts; so-

that one pair of opposite pistons are always out, and being operated upon, while the pair at right angles to them aredrawn in, or are in the act of being drawn in,,to pass and clear the abutments or stops- 1 When it is desired to stop thei engine the startinglever, Z, should be moved to an upright position, when the parts of vthe pe-x ripheries of the cock-plugs, between the openings of the passages, m, are'brought opposite'the openings, R, and the steampipes closed.

When it is desired to reverse themotion,

the starting-handle is moved to the, right,

or to a position the reverse of that whichit now occupies, by which the steam-passage, m, of the right hand cock-plug, formsa communication between the passage, R, and

that, T and the exhaust passage, n, of the same plug, communicates with the passage,

V; so that the steam enters below the abutment, and the exhaust steam escapes above. The steam-passages, m, of the left hand cock-plug, then forms a communication bev tween the steam pipe and the passage T, and the exhaust passage, 11, of the same plug,

munication between the passages can be.

changed instantaneously, and the steam' which was in action upon the piston, is

allowed to escape at once, owlngto the large 1' communicates with the passage, V the steam entering above, and the exhaust es areaof the exhaust passages, and the suddennesswith which they are thrown wide open; the steam on the opposite side of the pistons, being admitted with equal quickness. 7

By dividing the cylinder into two parts, and admitting steam on pistons at diametrically opposite points, all center pressure on the shaft is entirely obviated, as the pressure is equal in each chamber; and the pressure being fully effective on each piston, the power exerted is double that which would be exerted, where steam is only made to act one piston. By the convenient arrangement of the steam passages in the sixway cocks, and the modes'of opening and closing them, the engine is placed under the most perfect control of the engineer, or attendant, who can regulate all its movements, with rapidity and precission. The power exerted by the pressure of the steam is perfectly continuous and unbroken. The working parts of the engine are few; and there is no outside gearing, except for turning on, and shutting oif, the steam. The mode in which the joints are packed is such as to insure the greatest tightness and Security with the smallest amount of friction.

I have described the engine, throughout the specification, as being driven by steam; but it may be also impelled by any fluid or vapor, under pressure.

Having thus fully described my invention,

I will now state what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent. I do not'claim the sliding pistons, G,-nor an abutment or stop, N, in. the steam channel or. assage, around the interior of the cylinder, irrespective of the manner in which they are arranged, and in which they operate but,

I claim,

1. The revolving steam-wheel, E, having projecting rims or flanges, F, (or being otherwise fitted and) revolving within the interior of a stationary cylinder, A, in which there are two or more fixed abutments o-r stops, N, which fit steam-tight, so as to close and divide the annular space, betweenthe cylinder and wheel, into two or more steamchambers. The said steam-wheel having four or more pistons, G, G, G, G, whose operation is controlled by a stationary curved groove or way, H, in each cylinder head, D, so as to be alternately acted upon by the steam in the cylinder, and drawn within the wheel, so as to pass and clear the abutments 'or'stops, N, substantially in the manner herein shown. a

2. I claim the six-way cocks, or steamheads, M, having each a steam-passage, R, leading to its plug seat; two steam passages, T, T, leading from the plug seat to opposite chambers of the cylinder; two exhaust passages, U, U leading from opposite chambers of the cylinder back to the plug seat; and one, V, leading from the plug seat to the exhaust-pipe; their cock-plugs, Q, being provided with suitable openings and passages, to make communication to or from the steam and exhaust pipes, to either di vision of the cylinder, or to close both, sub stantially as herein explained.

3. I claim the mode of uniting the face and side packing-pieces of the pistons and abutments, so as to make them steam-tight, at their corners, by dovetailing them, as shown at, O, P, Fig. 5, and before specified.

4. I further claim making the steam cylinder Within, and a part of the piston wheel,

the stationary rim forming the 'outer'side of said cylinder, so that three sides of said cylinder shall revolve with the pistons, substantially as set forth.

EBENEZER BARROWS. Witnesses:

O. D. MUNN, S. H. WALLS. 

